Fame-Dropping: Five Decades of Encounters with the Eminent

· Rowman & Littlefield
Ebook
218
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

Fame-Dropping is a bit like name-dropping, but when your guide is historian James C. Humes, you can expect something more than just trivial details about celebrities. A former White House speechwriter and Pennsylvania state legislator, the author commands powers of persuasion that have opened doors into the lives of the world’s most influential men and women.

Fame-Dropping zooms in for a close-up while offering you a front-row seat for viewing history’s big picture. Rich with insight, and told in a lively, self-deprecating style, this book contains tales of a gregarious ghostwriter who has met countless notables — from star performers to those who wield power behind the scenes, in Hollywood, Washington, and beyond.

Learn, laugh, and enjoy with a “well-traveled political junkie” and Churchill biographer as he witnesses Richard Nixon’s informal side, dances with a young and radiant Queen Elizabeth II, and watches Margaret Thatcher tear up a speech he’d just written. Come and join Sir John Gielgud at the bar for cocktails, dine in Washington with McGovern’s Hollywood supporter Shirley MacLaine, and find out what the guests found hanging in Pamela Harriman’s powder room.

At once intimate and grounded in a historian’s wider perspectives, Fame-Dropping invites you to come closer and listen in, as you take a whirlwind tour of world events with the man who was welcomed everywhere.

About the author

James C. Humes has written speeches for Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, George H. W. Bush, and Reagan. He has practiced the art of public speaking as an attorney, lecturer, diplomat, and Pennsylvania state legislator.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.